Second Battle of Smolensk

The Second Battle of Smolensk occurred from 7 August to 2 October 1943 when the Red Army's Kalinin Front and the Soviet Western Front launched a two month-long offensive on the city of Smolensk, which was defended by 850,000 German troops. The offensive was conducted at the same time as the offensive on the Lower Dnieper river, and the offensive would result in the recapture of Smolensk in October 1943.

Background
The German offensive in central western Russia had been halted and defeated at the major tank battle at Kursk in July 1943, and the Soviet Red Army's Operation Kutuzov drove the Germans back from Orel and the Kursk salient. In August 1943, the Soviets began a series of massive offensives against the Wehrmacht occupiers of Belarus, Ukraine, and western Russia, liberating Belgorod on 5 August. On 7 August, the Kalinin Front and the Soviet Western Front, with a combined strength of 1,252,600 troops, launched an offensive on the German-held city of Smolensk, which was defended by 850,000 troops under Gunther von Kluge. Smolensk's fall was vital to the success of the Soviet offensive on the Dnieper River, and the Soviets intended to have their revenge against the Germans.

Battle
The Soviets launched attacks on three fronts, braving fire from German machine gun nests as their troops captured bridges across the Dnieper River and into the city of Smolensk. The capture of the central German positon on the riverbank allowed for Soviet armored forces to back up their infantry, and the Soviets advanced into the center of Smolensk. Soviet infantry on the right flank secured a warehouse from the Germans, but they could not receive armored support due to the Germans positioning three Hetzer tank destroyers in the nearby yard.

Armored offensive
Soviet tanks advanced on the left and right flanks to support the infantry, destroying German tanks and providing machine gun support against German infantry. The Soviets were backed up by three massive infantry charges called for by headquarters, with droves of Red Army infantrymen arriving to assist the embattled assault squads sent to take control over the German positions. The Soviet tanks engaged German armor in some tank clashes in the streets, and the Soviet tanks assisted their infantry counterparts in advancing past German-defended manor houses on the left flank. Soviet troops advancing in the center of the city had to battle the Germans in a junkyard, an industrial plant, and a warehouse, but the Soviets eventually managed to advance past enemy positions under heavy enemy fire.

Final assault
After the German third line of defense - located in the industrial sector - was breached, the Germans put up fierce resistance from the city square area, using Flak 88 guns to fire on advancing Soviet troops. The Red Army called on one last human wave charge for the motherland, ordering their reinforcements to attack the German infantry positions in front of the city square. A Soviet tank assisted the assault squads in capturing the city square position, and the Germans in their trenches would eventually by flushed out. The Germans had lost 70,593 troops in the Soviet offensive, while 451,466 Soviets wers lost.